CHARDON, Ohio -- The sentencing Tuesday of Chardon High School shooter T.J. Lane will be the final, dramatic chapter in a year-long legal and emotional odyssey, as the families of three slain students are expected to urge a judge to send Lane to prison for life, without the chance of parole.

It is unclear whether Lane will address Fuhry or provide an explanation of why he fired the shots. He has told his attorneys to avoid presenting any evidence on his behalf that could somehow lighten his sentence.

Lane faces life in prison. Under Ohio law, the earliest release possible will be in 26 years. Fuhry will decide when -- and if -- Lane is released from prison.

"I feel he should be locked up for the rest of his life," said Domenick Iammarino, the grandfather of slain victim Daniel Parmertor. "It was a despicable, premeditated act. He should breathe his last breath in prison."

A lawyer representing Lane, Ian Friedman, declined to comment.

Lane, 18, pleaded guilty Feb. 26 to three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of attempted aggravated murder and one count of felonious assault.

He admitted that he fired the .22-caliber weapon, which belonged to an uncle, 10 times. He killed Daniel, 16; Demetrius Hewlin, 16; and Russell King Jr., 17. Their families are expected to make pleas to Fuhry.

Geauga County Prosecutor James Flaiz said the families are pushing for Lane to receive a sentence of life in prison without parole, the maximum sentence possible. Demetrius' mother, Phyllis Ferguson, declined to comment, while several attempts to reach Russell's family were unsuccessful.

The boys' families have attended every court hearing, often dabbing tears and staring at Lane, who appears emotionless and never acknowledges them. They say little and often leave before reporters approach them. Family members have written victim impact statements to Fuhry, expressing the impact of the youths' deaths. The statements are sealed.

Lane cannot face the death penalty. He was 17 at the time of the shooting, and the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that youths who are younger than 18 at the time of the crime cannot be put to death.

In the shooting spree, he also wounded Nicholas Walczak, Joy Rickers and Nate Mueller. Walczak is in a wheelchair from the injuries. Rickers was released from the hospital soon after the shooting. Mueller was grazed on the ear by a bullet.

It is unclear whether the three will address Fuhry. Nick declined to comment last week. A relative of Joy's said the family didn't want to speak with reporters. Nate's family could not be reached.

Lane's guilty plea left the most important question of the case unanswered: Why did he fire the shots? He told sheriff's deputies after his arrest that he couldn't answer why he did it. Prior to his plea, his attorneys said he suffered from mental illness, including auditory hallucinations.

Authorities, however, suspect that Lane's shooting was hardly a random act. Instead, they said, it was planned and well-thought out, including his wearing of a shirt with the word 'Killer' in large letters. But no one would disclose a motive. That has fueled speculation that Lane was bullied.

Where Lane will end up after Tuesday's hearing also has raised speculation. In a matter of weeks, authorities will take him to either the Lorain Correctional Institution in Grafton or the Corrections Reception Center in Orient, southwest of Columbus, where he could stay for a few weeks. Prison officials will evaluate his mental and physical health and determine whether he is a security risk.

Depending on those factors, he will be sent to one of the state's 25 prisons for men. Many teenage felons are sent to the Madison Correctional Institution. If that happens, Lane would join Brogan Rafferty, who was convicted in the Craigslist killings. Rafferty was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole.

Prison experts said Lane's size -- about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing about 140 pounds -- and the high amount of publicity from his case could make him a target of other inmates.

"It could happen with any inmate, but especially one who has a high-profile case," said Jeff Eiser, a corrections expert from Cincinnati. "There is a pecking order in prison, and if you do something to a person who is well-known, it increases your prestige. That's why it is up to the prison to put him in the safest situation possible. Can something still happen, though? Yes."

Ron McAndrew, a retired prison warden in Florida, agreed: "He faces a very long road. I would hope that the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction would put him in a youth facility until he is 21, but that hardly ever happens. He could learn the ropes there, how to handle himself. The Ohio prison system knows exactly what is going to happen to him if he goes to an adult prison, someone of his age and his frame."

Mike Davis, a spokesman for state prisons, said the system "has a zero-tolerance policy for violence of any kind within our facilities. If an offender or the agency feels that being in general population can pose an undue threat on the safety of the offender or our operations, protective custody can be requested. The decision to place an offender in protective custody is done on a case-by-case basis."

Lane has been in solitary confinement in the Geauga County Jail.

Prior to the shootings, he lived with his grandparents, Jack and Carole Nolan, in Munson Township, just outside Chardon.

He attended Lake Academy in Willoughby, an alternative school. Authorities said he fired the shots as he waited for the bus that took him from Chardon High School each morning.

After he admitted to officers that he fired the shots in the cafeteria, Lane paused.

"I wish there was something I could say to take it back, go back in time," he said.

Plain Dealer staffers Jo Ellen Corrigan and John Horton contributed to this story.